Addressable advertising insertion for playout delay

ABSTRACT

A computer implemented method for inserting advertisement content into a program content stream includes receiving, by a headend content server, the program content stream. The program content stream includes an advertisement insertion cue. The method further includes detecting the advertisement insertion cue in the program content stream, and the advertisement insertion cue indicates an insertion point in the program content stream for inserting an advertisement. The method further includes modifying the advertisement insertion cue to indicate an expiration date and time for playout of a first advertisement content to be inserted into the program content stream, and inserting the first advertisement content into the program content stream.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure generally relates to advertisement insertion systems andmethods, and more particularly to advertisement insertion systems andmethods which facilitate the insertion of replacement advertisements inrecorded program content after a predetermined expiration date and timefor playout has elapsed.

Description of the Related Art

Program distributors deliver audio and/or video program content to itssubscribers. The program content includes, for example, televisionprograms, multimedia services, and the like, and may further includeadvertisement content. The program distributors typically deliver theaudio/video content to its subscribers in an industry-standard format,for example, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) MPEG-2 transportstream format.

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) developstechnology standards related to cable telecommunications engineering.The SCTE 35 standard defines the splicing of an MPEG-2 transport streamfor the purpose of digital program insertion. The SCTE 35 standard alsodefines the messages and structure that allow the program distributor tosplice, or insert, advertisements and other digital program content intothe audio/video content.

Subscribers often have a receiving device, such as a set-top box, whichmay include a digital video recorder (DVR) or other similar contentrecording functionality. It is not uncommon for users to delay playout(i.e. later playback) of that content until weeks or even months havepassed. Advertisements, which are placed during the live broadcast ofthe programming, may be somewhat time-sensitive in that theiradvertising value diminishes with such lapses of time before viewing;however, the advertisements which were placed in the programming duringlive broadcast remain in that program stream even during playout at amuch later date and time.

There is thus a need for improved advertisement insertion systems andmethods in this, as well as a variety of other, applications.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one aspect, a computer implemented method for inserting advertisementcontent into a program content stream includes: receiving, by a headendcontent server, the program content stream, the program content streamhaving an advertisement insertion cue; detecting, by the headend contentserver, the advertisement insertion cue in the program content stream,the advertisement insertion cue indicating an insertion point in theprogram content stream for inserting an advertisement; modifying, by theheadend content server, the advertisement insertion cue to indicate anexpiration date and time for playout of a first advertisement content tobe inserted into the program content stream; and inserting, by theheadend content server, the first advertisement content into the programcontent stream.

The detected advertisement insertion cue may include presentation timestamp (PTS) information, and modifying, by the headend content server,the advertisement insertion cue to indicate an expiration date and timefor playout of a first advertisement content to be inserted into theprogram content stream may include: generating a configurable valueindicating an amount of time until expiration for the firstadvertisement; and adding the configurable value to the presentationtime stamp information, thereby resulting in the expiration date andtime for playout of the first advertisement content.

The method may further include: receiving, by a receiving device, theprogram content stream including the inserted first advertisement;recording, by the receiving device, the program content stream includingthe inserted first advertisement; determining, at a time of playout ofthe recorded program content stream including the inserted firstadvertisement, whether the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed; and inserting a secondadvertisement in the recorded program content stream to replace thefirst advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed.

Determining whether the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed may be performed by thereceiving device or by the headend content server. Similarly, insertinga second advertisement in the recorded program content stream to replacethe first advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout ofthe inserted first advertisement has passed may be performed by thereceiving device or by the headend content server.

The first advertisement may be a national advertisement, and the secondadvertisement may be a local advertisement.

In another aspect, an advertisement insertion system includes a headendcontent server. The headend content server is configured to receive aprogram content stream, the program content stream having anadvertisement insertion cue. The headend content server is furtherconfigured to: detect the advertisement insertion cue in the programcontent stream, the advertisement insertion cue indicating an insertionpoint in the program content stream for inserting an advertisement;modify the advertisement insertion cue to indicate an expiration dateand time for playout of a first advertisement content to be insertedinto the program content stream; and insert the first advertisementcontent into the program content stream.

The headend content server may be further configured to: generate aconfigurable value indicating an amount of time until expiration for thefirst advertisement; and add the configurable value to the presentationtime stamp (PTS) information, thereby resulting in the expiration dateand time for playout of the first advertisement content.

The advertisement insertion system may further include a receivingdevice. The receiving device may be configured to: receive the programcontent stream including the inserted first advertisement; and recordthe program content stream including the inserted first advertisement.

The receiving device and/or the headend content server may be evenfurther configured to: determine, at a time of playout of the recordedprogram content stream including the inserted first advertisement,whether the expiration date and time for playout of the inserted firstadvertisement has passed; and insert a second advertisement in therecorded program content stream to replace the first advertisement ifthe expiration date and time for playout of the inserted firstadvertisement has passed.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium includescomputer executable instructions thereon that, when executed by acomputer processor, cause the computer processor to: detect anadvertisement insertion cue in a received program content stream, theadvertisement insertion cue indicating an insertion point in the programcontent stream for inserting an advertisement; modify the advertisementinsertion cue to indicate an expiration date and time for playout of afirst advertisement content to be inserted into the program contentstream; and insert the first advertisement content into the programcontent stream.

In another aspect, a method of inserting advertisement content duringplayout by a receiving device of a recorded program content stream, therecorded program content stream having an advertisement insertion cueindicating an expiration date and time for playout of a firstadvertisement content inserted in the program content stream, includes:determining, by the receiving device, at a time of playout of therecorded program content stream, whether the expiration date and timefor playout of the first advertisement has passed; and inserting, by thereceiving device, a second advertisement in the recorded program contentstream to replace the first advertisement if the expiration date andtime for playout of the inserted first advertisement has passed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an advertisement insertionsystem, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2a is a signal diagram illustrating a program content streamincluding an advertisement insertion cue and an avail, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 2b is a signal diagram illustrating a program content streamincluding a modified advertisement insertion cue indicating anexpiration date and time for playout of an advertisement inserted intothe avail, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3a is a signal diagram illustrating a program content streamincluding a modified advertisement insertion cue and a firstadvertisement inserted into the avail, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3b is a signal diagram illustrating a program content streamincluding a modified advertisement insertion cue and a secondadvertisement inserted into the avail, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for modifying theadvertisement insertion cue and then inserting advertisement contentinto a program content stream, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for inserting a secondadvertisement content during playout by a receiving device of a recordedprogram content stream having an advertisement insertion cue indicatingan expiration date and time for playout of a first advertisement contenthas passed.

In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify identical elementsor elements in the same group and class. The sizes and relativepositions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn toscale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and some of these elements are enlarged andpositioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapesof the elements as drawn are not intended to convey any informationregarding the actual shape of the particular elements and have beenselected for ease of recognition in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. Well-knownstructures and methods associated with media content delivery have notbeen shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuringdescriptions of the preferred embodiments.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, suchas, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open,inclusive sense, for example “including, but not limited to.”

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise. The term “or” is generally employed in itssense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are forconvenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of theembodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an advertisement insertion system100 according to one embodiment. It is to be appreciated that FIG. 1illustrates one example of an advertisement insertion system 100 andthat the various embodiments discussed herein are not limited to theexemplary network of FIG. 1. The system 100 may include a variety ofcommunication systems and may use a variety of communication mediaincluding, but not limited to, satellite wireless media, cable media orany media over which communication of broadcast television programming,on-demand programming, and/or streaming media may occur, and/or overwhich Internet communication may occur.

The system 100 includes a headend content server 110, which receivesprogram content 120 and advertisement content 130. Program content 120may be provided from one or more content providers (not shown), whichprovide content such as video content and/or audio content (hereinafter“program content”) to a distributor, such as a distributor operating theheadend content server 110. The program content 120 may include contentprovided from content providers such as television stations whichprovide local or national video programming, special content providerswhich provide premium based programming or pay-per-view programming,and/or radio stations which provide audio programming. In addition, orin the alternative, the program content 120 may include content providedfrom on-demand content services, streaming media services, or the likewhich provide audio, video and other types of program content to theheadend content server 110 for delivery of programming to a subscriber.

Advertisement content 130 may be provided to, or accessible by, theheadend content server 110 from one or more advertisement sources, whichmay be or include one or more databases storing advertisement content130. Advertisement content 130 may be provided to the headend contentserver 110 directly from advertisers, or from third party advertisementaggregators, services or the like.

The headend content server 110 receives the program content 120 andadvertisement content 130 over a communication network 106, and theheadend content server 110 is coupled to a receiving device 140 over acommunication network 108. The receiving device 140 receives the programcontent 120 and advertisement content 130 and connects to a presentationdevice 150 to display the program content 120 and advertisement content130 received from the headend content server 110.

The communication networks 106, 108 may be or include many differenttypes of communication media, now known or later developed. Non-limitingmedia examples include telephony systems, the Internet, internets, cablenetworks, fiber optic networks, microwave networks, asynchronoustransfer mode (ATM) systems, frame relay networks, packet switchednetworks, digital subscriber loop (DSL) systems, radio frequency (RF)networks and satellite systems. Further, program content 120 and/oradvertisement content 130 may be communicated from program andadvertisement content providers to the headend content server 110 overvarious combinations of media. For example, a television broadcaststation may initially communicate program content, via an RF signal orother suitable medium, which is received and then converted into adigital signal suitable for transmission to the headend content server110 over a fiber optics network. As another non-limiting example, anaudio content provider may communicate audio content via its ownsatellite system to the headend content server 110.

The received program content 120 and/or advertisement content 130 isconverted by one or more devices (not shown) as necessary at the headendcontent server 110 into a suitable signal that is communicated (i.e.“uplinked”) by one or more antennae to one or more satellites (notseparately illustrated herein, although considered part of thecommunication network 108). It is to be appreciated that thecommunicated uplink signal may contain a plurality of multiplexedprograms. The uplink signal is received by the satellite and thencommunicated (i.e., “downlinked”) from the satellite in one or moredirections, for example, onto a predefined portion of the planet. It isappreciated that the format of the above-described signals are adaptedas necessary during the various stages of communication.

An antenna that is within reception range of the downlink signalcommunicated from satellite receives the above-described downlinksignal. The antenna can be located at a customer premises. Examples ofcustomer premises include a residence, a business, a car, or any othersuitable location operable to receive signals from satellite or othercommunication systems. The received signal is communicated, typicallyover a hard-wire connection, to the receiving device 140, which convertsthe received signal into a signal suitable for communication to apresentation device 150.

The receiving device 140 may receive content partially from, or entirelyfrom, another source other than the above-described antenna. Otherembodiments of the receiving device 140 may receive locally broadcast RFsignals, and/or may be coupled to communication network 108 via anysuitable medium. Non-limiting examples of media communicatively couplingthe receiving device 140 to communication network 108 include cable,fiber optic, radio frequency, streaming or Internet media.

The receiving device 140, as well as any other devices shown in FIG. 1and/or other devices or systems described herein, may include at leastone computer processor coupled to at least one non-transitory memory,and is configured to execute computer-executable instructions to carryout, enable and/or otherwise perform applicable actions described hereinof the system 100 and the different embodiments described herein.Examples of a receiving device include, but are not limited to, atelevision converter, receiver, set-top box, television receivingdevice, television receiver, television recording device, satelliteset-top box, satellite receiver, cable set-top box, cable receiver,personal computer, media player, mobile device, tablet computing device,smart phone and/or television tuner. Accordingly, the receiving device140 may be any suitable converter device or electronic equipment that isoperable to receive programming (i.e. program content 120 andadvertisement content 130). Further, the receiving device 140 may itselfinclude user interface devices, such as buttons, switches, a display,and may include the presentation device 150. Additionally, the receivingdevice 140 includes recording capability, and may be or include adigital video recorder (DVR).

Examples of a presentation device 150 include, but are not limited to, atelevision (TV), a personal computer (PC), a media player, mobiledevice, tablet computing device, smart phone or the like. Presentationdevices 120 employ a display, one or more speakers and/or other outputdevices to communicate program content 120 and/or advertisement content130 to a user. In many implementations, one or more presentation devices150 reside in or near a customer's premises and are communicativelycoupled, directly or indirectly, to the receiving device 140.

The program content 120 received by the headend content server 110 mayinclude conventional advertisement insertion cues. For example, theprogram content 120 (which may be, for example, received externaltelevision signals) may be a MPEG-2 transport stream having embeddedadvertisement insertion cues in accordance with the SCTE 35 standard.SCTE 35 is a broadcast standard that pertains to digital programinsertion (DPI) in broadcasts, and describes the in-stream insertion ofcue tones in MPEG streams to signal splicing and insertion (e.g.advertisement insertion or insertion of other content types)opportunities. Further, and as shown in FIG. 2a , the program content120 may include an advertisement insertion cue 202 (such as a modifiedSCTE 35 signal) that includes a presentation time stamp (PTS) field foraddressable insertion, such that the advertisement insertion cue 202indicates to the headend content server 110 and/or the receiving device140 when to insert the addressable content (e.g., a local advertisement)into the programming stream for playout. The program content 120 mayinclude a broadcasting stream having an avail, meaning an advertisementtime slot, 214 disposed between network program portions 212 a, 212 b.The advertisement insertion cue 202 indicates a timing, such as aspecific frame or PTS in the received program content 120 stream, forinserting an advertisement into the avail portion 214 of the programcontent 120 stream.

During a live broadcast, the headend content server 110 analyzes thereceived program content 120 for advertisement insertion cues 202,modifies the advertisement insertion cues 202 and simultaneouslyprovides the program content 120 to the receiving device 140, forexample, over the communication network 108.

Referring to FIGS. 2a and 2b , when the headend content server 110detects an advertisement insertion cue 202, the headend content server110 generates a modified advertisement insertion cue 203 that includes afield indicating an expiration date and time (shown as the value<playout-date-time>) for playout of an advertisement inserted into theavail 214. The advertisement insertion cue 202 may include apresentation time stamp (PTS) in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), andthe modified advertisement insertion cue 203 may include a configurablevalue, which when added to the PTS, results in an expiration date andtime for playout of an inserted advertisement. That is, the modifiedadvertisement insertion cue 203 may include a <playout-date-time>fieldin accordance with the following expression: <Configurablevalue>+Existing Date/Time (PTS)=<playout-date-time>.

Thus, during a live broadcast, the headend content server 110 receivesthe program content stream 120a, generates a modified advertisementinsertion cue 203 and provides the program content stream 120b,including the modified advertisement insertion cue 203, to the receivingdevice 140. Either of the headend content server 110 or the receivingdevice 140, upon recognition of the advertisement insertion cue 203, mayinsert an appropriate advertisement, selected from the advertisementcontent 130, into the avail 214 slot of the program content stream 120b.

As discussed above, the receiving device 140 may include recordingcapability, and may be or include a digital video recorder (DVR). Assuch, a user may record a broadcast program stream and store the programfor later playout on the presentation device 150. FIG. 3a illustrates aprogram content stream 120c received by the receiving device 140 duringoriginal broadcasting of the content, and stored by the receiving device140 for later playout. An advertisement 314 has been inserted into theavail slot 214 in the program content stream 120c of FIG. 3a . Insertionof the advertisement 314 may be performed upon detection of theadvertisement insertion cue 203 by the headend content server 110 or bythe receiving device 140.

Depending on the time of playout of the recorded program content 120 chaving the modified advertisement insertion cue 203, the advertisement314 inserted into the avail 214 may be the advertisement originallyplaced in the avail 214 during live broadcast of the program content120, or may be a replacement advertisement. That is, the receivingdevice 140 reads the modified advertisement insertion cue 203 todetermine the expiration date and time for playout, and compares theexpiration date and time for playout with the actual time of playout inorder to determine whether the advertisement has been expired and thusmay be replaced. If the expiration date and time for playout (i.e.<playout-date-time>) associated with the originally-insertedadvertisement 314 has not yet passed at the time of playout of therecorded program content 120c, the originally-inserted advertisement 314will remain in the program content stream 120c during playout.

If, on the other hand, the expiration date and time for playoutassociated with the originally-inserted advertisement 314 has passed atthe time of playout of the recorded program content 120c, the receivingdevice 140 or the headend content server 110, upon determining from themodified advertisement insertion cue 203 that the recorded advertisement314 has expired, may insert a replacement advertisement 315 into theavail slot 214. This is shown in FIG. 3b , which illustrates a programcontent stream 120 d, including a replacement advertisement 315, whichreplaces the recorded, originally-inserted advertisement 314.

The advertisement insertion system 100, as shown in FIG. 1 and describedabove, performs the advertisement insertion at the headend contentserver 110 or at the receiving device 140. One skilled in the art willreadily understand that it is also feasible to perform advertisementinsertion at the headend content server 110 for broadcast advertisementcontent, and at the receiving device 140 for delayed playoutadvertisement content. The originally-inserted broadcast advertisement314 may be replaced, for example, with a targeted or local advertisement315.

The following is an example in which the embodiments described hereincan be used. Assume that a sporting event that has a national followingis broadcast, such as a football game, a baseball game, or, in someinstances, a national level game such as the Super Bowl or the WorldSeries. When the broadcast is transmitted live, a large nationwidecompany having retail outlets in every state may pay a significantamount of money to have the advertisement show up in all marketsnationwide. For example, this may be an advertisement for a particularbrand of car that is sold nationwide, with the advertising focusing onthe car brand itself. At the time that the broadcast is first displayedlive, a modified advertisement insertion cue 203 is placed into therecording stream indicating that after a period of time, such as oneweek, the advertising for the nationwide product will expire and theadvertisement may be replaced by a different advertisement. Accordingly,two weeks later when the user plays back the sporting event to watch thesporting event later on, the date for the original advertisement willhave expired, as indicated by the insertion cue. Accordingly, adifferent advertisement will therefore be placed into the available timeslot and the original advertisement will be removed. In this instance,it may be an advertisement for a local automobile dealership, a localtire store, or some other business which has only a location-specificapplication, rather than a nationwide application.

The source of the second advertisement 315 can vary depending on thetype of advertisement. In one embodiment, the source of secondadvertisement 315 can be advertisements which have been previouslydownloaded and stored in the set-top box 140. The content distributorknows the address and physical location of each set-top box 140. Forexample, Comcast®, DISH Network®, DIRECTV®, and the other contentdistributors, know the location of each set-top box based on having theaddress of their subscribers. Thus, they can easily, using zip codes orother identifying information, determine those set-top boxes that are ina selected market, such as the Seattle market, the Denver market, theNew York market, and the like. Further, using zip codes or othergeographic market identifiers, they can identify particular segmentswithin the market, including such small towns as Yelm, Bothell, and thelike, to more specifically identify advertisements which may be specificto that particular set-top box. During a set-top box reconfiguration,which is usually performed when the TV is off (e.g., at 3:00 am), thecontent provider can download to the set-top box a series ofadvertisements which will be stored in the DVR of the set-top box, andindicated as available for insertion into the replay streams based onthe time slot being available as indicated by the modified advertisementinsertion cue 203. Namely, the set-top box has stored therein numerousadvertisements which have been preprogrammed into and stored in theset-top box and are available for use as a second advertisement.Accordingly, when the modified advertisement insertion cue 203 indicatesthat the first advertisement has expired, then the system will retrievea backup advertisement, such as the second advertisement 315, and willinsert it into that particular location in the playback stream duringthe playback of the recorded signal.

Since the program content provider normally provide updates to theset-top box at least once a week, and sometimes more frequently, asequence of backup advertisements can be provided and stored into theset-top box once a week, or more frequently, as desired. Thisdownloading can be done either via the standard connection through whichthe program content is provided, over an Internet connection that theset-top box is connected to, or some other technique, since manycommunication channels to the set-top box are known.

An alternative source of the second advertisement 315 can be a livestream from the program content provider or an advertisement provider.Namely, when a modified advertisement insertion cue 203 indicates thatthe first advertisement has expired, the system can send a signal to theprovider of the advertisement content 130, and indicate that there is anavailable slot for a new advertisement. In response to this query, theadvertisement content 130 can transmit, live and for immediateinsertion, through network 106, through the headend content server 110,a new advertisement to be inserted into the playback stream asadvertisement 315, as indicated in FIG. 3B. Thus, a second source forthe second advertisement 315 can be a live download which occursimmediately upon the modified advertisement insertion cue 203 indicatingthat the time has expired and that the advertisement slot 315 isavailable for a new advertisement. Providing the second advertisement315 live will operate more cleanly and more quickly if there is fast andclean communication between the advertisement content 130 and theset-top box 140, which, in many instances, may be available. In thoseinstances in which it is not available, then storing the newadvertisement 315 at some other location, either within the headendcontent server 110 within the set-top box 140 is also available in themanner as previously described.

The ability to replace a first advertisement 314 with a secondadvertisement 315 provides a number of benefits. First, an increasedrevenue stream can be provided to those providing the program content.Namely, the distributor of the first program can receive a fee forshowing the first advertisement to a nationwide audience. They canassure the advertiser that the advertisement will be displayed live toall viewers, and that it will remain in the broadcast stream for aperiod of time, even when the stream has been recorded at a local DVRwithin a local set-top box 140. Further, after a set period of time, thecontent provider can receive additional revenue by contracting withanother company to run the second advertisement in a popular programwhich is likely to be viewed multiple times over the coming weeks. Inaddition, this provides the benefit that local advertisers can be linkedwith very popular and nationwide initial broadcasts. As can be expected,it may be very difficult, and practically impossible, for a small localcompany such as a local tire store, a particular automobile dealer, adoughnut shop, or the like, to place an advertisement in a program suchas the Super Bowl. On the other hand, these companies will be able topay a small fee in order to be a second advertiser only within theirlocal community that has direct knowledge of their store, based on thezip code or other geographic market identifier of the viewer when theywatch the Super Bowl a second time, from their DVR. Accordingly, thesmall company has the opportunity to have an advertisement inserted intoa frequently re-seen or time-shifted broadcast, such as the Super Bowl.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 for insertingadvertisement content into a program content stream, in accordance withone embodiment. At 402, the headend content server 110 receives theprogram content stream 120. The program content stream 120 includes anadvertisement insertion cue 202.

At 404, the headend content server 110 detects the advertisementinsertion cue 202 in the program content stream 120, and theadvertisement insertion cue 202 indicates an insertion point in theprogram content stream 120 for inserting an advertisement.

At 406, the headend content server 110 modifies the advertisementinsertion cue 203 to indicate an expiration date and time for playout ofa first advertisement content 314 to be inserted into the programcontent stream 120.

At 408, the headend content server 110 inserts the first advertisementcontent 314 into the program content stream 120.

The program content stream 120, including the modified advertisementinsertion cue 203 and the inserted first advertisement content 314 maythus be received by the receiving device 140 and recorded in the localset-top box DVR for later playout in step 410.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 of inserting a secondadvertisement content during playout by a receiving device of a recordedprogram content stream 120, the recorded program content stream 120having an advertisement insertion cue 203 indicating an expiration dateand time for playout of a first advertisement content 314 inserted inthe program content stream 120, in accordance with one embodiment.

At 502, the receiving device 140 determines, at a time of playout of therecorded program content stream 120, whether the expiration date andtime for playout of the first advertisement 314 has passed.

At 504, the receiving device 140 or the headend server 110 inserts asecond advertisement 315 in the recorded program content stream 120 toreplace the first advertisement 314 if the expiration date and time forplayout of the inserted first advertisement 314 has passed.

The above description of illustrated embodiments, including what isdescribed in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specificembodiments of and examples are described herein for illustrativepurposes, various equivalent modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as will be recognized bythose skilled in the relevant art.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. To the extent that they are not inconsistent withthe specific teachings and definitions herein, all of the U.S. patents,U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreignpatents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publicationsreferred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application DataSheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspectsof the embodiments can be modified, if necessary, to employ systems andconcepts of the various patents, applications and publications toprovide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

1. A computer implemented method for inserting advertisement contentinto a program content stream, comprising: receiving, by anadvertisement insertion system, the program content stream, the programcontent stream having an advertisement insertion cue; including anadvertisement insertion cue in the program content stream, theadvertisement insertion cue indicating an insertion time slot in theprogram content stream for inserting an advertisement and an expirationdate and time for playout of the advertisement, wherein expiration dateand time for playout is included in a field added to the advertisementinsertion cue that indicates the expiration date and time for playout ofthe advertisement; and inserting, by the advertisement insertion system,a first advertisement into the program content stream at the insertiontime slot that is subject to the expiration date and time for playout ofthe field added to the advertisement insertion cue.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the advertisement insertion cue includes presentationtime stamp information, and wherein the including the advertisementinsertion cue in the program content streamcomprises: generating aconfigurable value indicating an amount of time until expiration for thefirst advertisement that is inserted into the program content stream atthe insertion time slot; and adding the configurable value to thepresentation time stamp information, thereby resulting in the expirationdate and time for playout of the first advertisement that is insertedinto the program content stream at the insertion time slot.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by a receiving device,the program content stream including the inserted first advertisement;recording, by the receiving device, the program content stream includingthe inserted first advertisement; determining, at a time of playout ofthe recorded program content stream including the inserted firstadvertisement, whether the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed; and inserting a secondadvertisement in the recorded program content stream to replace thefirst advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein determining whether the expiration date and time for playout ofthe inserted first advertisement has passed comprises: determining, bythe receiving device, at a time of playout of the recorded programcontent stream including the inserted first advertisement, whether theexpiration date and time for playout of the inserted first advertisementhas passed.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining whether theexpiration date and time for playout of the inserted first advertisementhas passed comprises: determining, by the advertisement insertionsystem, at a time of playout of the recorded program content streamincluding the inserted first advertisement, whether the expiration dateand time for playout of the inserted first advertisement has passed. 6.The method of claim 3, wherein inserting a second advertisement in therecorded program content stream to replace the first advertisement ifthe expiration date and time for playout of the inserted firstadvertisement has passed, comprises: inserting, by the receiving device,a second advertisement in the recorded program content stream to replacethe first advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout ofthe inserted first advertisement has passed.
 7. The method of claim 3,wherein inserting a second advertisement in the recorded program contentstream to replace the first advertisement if the expiration date andtime for playout of the inserted first advertisement has passed,comprises: inserting, by the advertisement insertion system, a secondadvertisement in the recorded program content stream to replace thefirst advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed.
 8. The method of claim 3,wherein the first advertisement comprises a national advertisement, andthe second advertisement comprises a local advertisement.
 9. Anadvertisement insertion system, comprising: a headend content serverconfigured to: receive a program content stream, the program contentstream having an advertisement insertion cue; include an advertisementinsertion cue in the program content stream, the advertisement insertioncue indicating an insertion time slot in the program content stream forinserting an advertisement and an expiration date and time for playoutof the advertisement, wherein expiration date and time for playout isincluded in a field added to the advertisement insertion cue thatindicates the expiration date and time for playout of the advertisement;and insert a first advertisement into the program content stream at theinsertion time slot that is subject to the expiration date and time forplayout of the field added to the advertisement insertion cue.
 10. Theadvertisement insertion system of claim 9, wherein the headend contentserver is further configured to: generate a configurable valueindicating an amount of time until expiration for the firstadvertisement that is inserted into the program content stream at theinsertion time slot; and add the configurable value to the presentationtime stamp information, thereby resulting in the expiration date andtime for playout of the first advertisement that is inserted into theprogram content stream at the insertion time slot.
 11. The advertisementinsertion system of claim 9, further comprising: a receiving deviceconfigured to: receive the program content stream including the insertedfirst advertisement; and record the program content stream including theinserted first advertisement.
 12. The advertisement insertion system ofclaim 11, wherein the receiving device is further configured to:determine, at a time of playout of the recorded program content streamincluding the inserted first advertisement, whether the expiration dateand time for playout of the inserted first advertisement has passed; andinsert a second advertisement in the recorded program content stream toreplace the first advertisement if the expiration date and time forplayout of the inserted first advertisement has passed.
 13. Theadvertisement insertion system of claim 12, wherein the firstadvertisement comprises a national advertisement, and the secondadvertisement comprises a local advertisement.
 14. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereonthat, when executed ay at least one processor, cause the followingoperations to be performed: receiving, by an advertisement insertionsystem, the program content stream, the program content stream having anadvertisement insertion cue; including an advertisement insertion cue inthe program content stream, the advertisement insertion cue indicatingan insertion time slot in the program content stream for inserting anadvertisement and an expiration date and time for playout of theadvertisement, wherein the expiration date and time for playout isincluded in a field added to the advertisement insertion cue thatindicates the expiration date and time for playout of the advertisement;and inserting, by the advertisement insertion system, a firstadvertisement into the program content stream at the insertion time slotthat is subject to the expiration date and time for playout of the fieldadded to the advertisement insertion cue.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the advertisementinsertion cue includes presentation time stamp information, and whereinthe including the advertisement insertion cue in the program contentstream comprises: generating a configurable value indicating an amountof time until expiration for the first advertisement that is insertedinto the program content stream at the insertion time slot; and addingthe configurable value to the presentation time stamp information,thereby resulting in the expiration date and time for playout of thefirst advertisement that is inserted into the program content stream atthe insertion time slot.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further include:receiving, by a receiving device, the program content stream includingthe inserted first advertisement; recording, by the receiving device,the program content stream including the inserted first advertisement;determining, at a time of playout of the recorded program content streamincluding the inserted first advertisement, whether the expiration dateand time for playout of the inserted first advertisement has passed; andinserting a second advertisement in the recorded program content streamto replace the first advertisement if the expiration date and time forplayout of the inserted first advertisement has passed.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, whereindetermining whether the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed comprises: determining, by theadvertisement insertion system, at a time of playout of the recordedprogram content stream including the inserted first advertisement,whether the expiration date and time for playout of the inserted firstadvertisement has passed.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 16, wherein inserting a second advertisement inthe recorded program content stream to replace the first advertisementif the expiration date and time for playout of the inserted firstadvertisement has passed, comprises: inserting, by the receiving device,a second advertisement in the recorded program content stream to replacethe first advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout ofthe inserted first advertisement has passed.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein inserting a secondadvertisement in the recorded program content stream to replace thefirst advertisement if the expiration date and time for playout of theinserted first advertisement has passed, comprises: inserting, by theadvertisement insertion system, a second advertisement in the recordedprogram content stream to replace the first advertisement if theexpiration date and time for playout of the inserted first advertisementhas passed.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 16, wherein the first advertisement comprises a nationaladvertisement, and the second advertisement comprises a localadvertisement.